Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

19-2012-ATL
Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Consumer Price Index, South Region – October 2019

Prices in the South up 0.2 percent over the month and 1.3 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South edged up 0.2 percent in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Since September, the all items less food and energy index and the food index each rose 0.3 percent. In contrast, the energy index declined 0.6 percent over the month. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U for the South increased 1.3 percent from October 2018 to October 2019. Over the year, the all items less food and energy index advanced 2.1 percent and the food index rose 1.9 percent. The energy index declined 6.2 percent over the 12-month period. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index edged up 0.3 percent from September to October, led by a 0.5-percent increase in the food at home index. The food away from home index was little changed over the month, up 0.1 percent.

The food index rose 1.9 percent for the 12 months ending October 2019, reflecting increases in the food away from home (3.3 percent) and the food at home (0.8 percent) indexes.

Energy

The energy index declined 0.6 percent from September to October. The electricity index fell 1.9 percent over the month, while the utility (piped) gas service index rose 2.8 percent. The gasoline index was little changed in October, up 0.1 percent over the month.  

The energy index fell 6.2 percent over the past 12 months, reflecting a 12.4-percent drop in the gasoline index. Since October 2018, the electricity and the utility (piped) gas service indexes increased, up 1.6 and 3.4 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged up 0.3 percent in October. Several categories recorded increases, most notably shelter (0.2 percent), recreation (0.6 percent), and household furnishings and operations (0.7 percent). In contrast, apparel was among the indexes that declined from September to October, down 1.0 percent.  

Since October 2018, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.1 percent, reflecting increases in the shelter (3.1 percent) and medical care (3.2 percent) indexes.

Geographic divisions

Additional price indexes are now available for the three divisions of the South. Over the month, the all items CPI-U increased 0.2 percent in both the South Atlantic and the West South Central divisions. The all items index in the East South Central division rose 0.1 percent.  

Over the year, the all items index advanced 1.8 percent in the South Atlantic division and increased 1.0 percent in the West South Central division. The all items index in the East South Central division was little changed, up 0.2 percent over the last 12 months.

Table A. South region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month 1-month 12-month

January

-0.7 -0.4 0.0 1.2 0.5 2.6 0.5 1.8 0.2 1.2

February

0.5 -0.3 0.1 0.7 0.2 2.8 0.6 2.1 0.5 1.1

March

0.6 -0.3 0.6 0.7 0.0 2.2 0.2 2.3 0.7 1.6

April

0.3 -0.6 0.4 0.9 0.2 2.0 0.4 2.4 0.5 1.8

May

0.4 -0.4 0.4 0.9 0.0 1.7 0.3 2.7 -0.1 1.4

June

0.5 -0.1 0.4 0.8 0.2 1.5 0.2 2.7 -0.1 1.1

July

-0.1 -0.1 -0.2 0.7 -0.2 1.6 0.0 2.9 0.3 1.4

August

-0.2 -0.2 0.1 1.0 0.4 1.9 -0.1 2.4 -0.1 1.4

September

-0.2 -0.4 0.2 1.4 0.7 2.4 0.0 1.7 0.0 1.3

October

0.0 -0.1 0.1 1.5 -0.2 2.0 0.2 2.1 0.2 1.3

November

-0.2 0.3 -0.1 1.6 -0.1 2.1 -0.3 1.9

December

-0.4 0.5 0.1 2.0 -0.1 1.8 -0.5 1.5

The Consumer Price Index for November 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 11, 2019.


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 percent of the total population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 75 urban areas across the country from about 5,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 retail establishments—department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch17.pdf.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. NOTE: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The South region is comprised of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods
South (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

Indexes Percent change from-
Aug.
2019
Sep.
2019
Oct.
2019
Oct.
2018
Aug.
2019
Sep.
2019

Expenditure category

All Items

246.953 246.891 247.423 1.3 0.2 0.2

All items (December 1977=100)

400.593 400.492 401.354 - - -

Food and beverages

255.037 255.288 256.171 2.0 0.4 0.3

Food

256.205 256.510 257.388 1.9 0.5 0.3

Food at home

238.578 238.910 240.171 0.8 0.7 0.5

Cereal and bakery products

281.465 281.594 282.606 1.7 0.4 0.4

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

243.047 243.099 245.609 1.2 1.1 1.0

Dairy and related products

220.224 222.735 223.121 1.9 1.3 0.2

Fruits and vegetables

283.586 282.107 284.349 -0.3 0.3 0.8

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials

168.573 168.817 168.471 0.6 -0.1 -0.2

Other food at home

209.420 210.160 211.199 0.5 0.8 0.5

Food away from home

285.022 285.294 285.649 3.3 0.2 0.1

Alcoholic beverages

238.416 237.871 238.832 2.2 0.2 0.4

Housing

245.324 245.823 246.044 3.0 0.3 0.1

Shelter

283.383 284.117 284.575 3.1 0.4 0.2

Rent of primary residence

296.843 297.531 298.053 3.4 0.4 0.2

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)

285.297 285.990 286.876 3.3 0.6 0.3

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)

285.306 286.002 286.885 3.3 0.6 0.3

Fuels and utilities

241.333 241.672 239.578 1.8 -0.7 -0.9

Household energy

194.026 194.374 191.880 1.7 -1.1 -1.3

Energy services

194.480 194.743 192.120 1.8 -1.2 -1.3

Electricity

193.267 194.256 190.541 1.6 -1.4 -1.9

Utility (piped) gas service

186.213 181.434 186.591 3.4 0.2 2.8

Household furnishings and operations

124.888 124.737 125.581 3.0 0.6 0.7

Apparel

133.148 134.259 132.967 -3.5 -0.1 -1.0

Transportation

209.909 207.983 208.663 -2.7 -0.6 0.3

Private transportation

208.988 206.900 207.334 -2.9 -0.8 0.2

New and used motor vehicles(2)

102.880 101.315 101.221 0.1 -1.6 -0.1

New vehicles

153.058 152.668 152.337 -0.1 -0.5 -0.2

New cars and trucks(2)(3)

104.190 103.923 103.700 -0.1 -0.5 -0.2

New cars(3)

153.136 152.473 152.286 0.1 -0.6 -0.1

Used cars and trucks

145.103 139.853 139.689 1.3 -3.7 -0.1

Motor fuel

214.791 212.291 212.504 -12.3 -1.1 0.1

Gasoline (all types)

213.538 210.978 211.143 -12.4 -1.1 0.1

Unleaded regular(3)

207.977 205.364 205.551 -12.8 -1.2 0.1

Unleaded midgrade(3)(4)

238.442 236.591 236.142 -10.2 -1.0 -0.2

Unleaded premium(3)

237.503 235.626 235.698 -9.3 -0.8 0.0

Motor vehicle insurance(5)

951.189 951.142 960.817 0.5 1.0 1.0

Medical care

475.283 475.494 476.689 3.2 0.3 0.3

Medical care commodities

357.260 354.010 352.780 -2.2 -1.3 -0.3

Medical care services

515.165 516.589 518.629 4.6 0.7 0.4

Professional services

366.642 366.900 366.878 0.9 0.1 0.0

Recreation(2)

120.379 120.782 121.488 2.5 0.9 0.6

Education and communication(2)

133.022 132.870 133.408 0.1 0.3 0.4

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)

1,343.441 1,349.055 1,356.623 2.2 1.0 0.6

Other goods and services

431.284 431.693 434.357 1.4 0.7 0.6

Commodity and service group

All Items

246.953 246.891 247.423 1.3 0.2 0.2

Commodities

184.500 183.791 184.051 -0.9 -0.2 0.1

Commodities less food and beverages

151.369 150.362 150.395 -2.6 -0.6 0.0

Nondurables less food and beverages

197.940 197.309 197.173 -5.1 -0.4 -0.1

Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel

237.980 236.430 236.886 -5.5 -0.5 0.2

Durables

108.325 107.175 107.310 0.5 -0.9 0.1

Services

309.856 310.484 311.297 2.8 0.5 0.3

Rent of shelter(1)

291.075 291.841 292.317 3.2 0.4 0.2

Transportation services

360.385 360.405 364.562 1.1 1.2 1.2

Other services

345.916 346.447 348.219 1.4 0.7 0.5

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

234.502 234.426 234.923 1.2 0.2 0.2

All items less food

245.269 245.153 245.633 1.2 0.1 0.2

All items less shelter

233.793 233.429 233.991 0.5 0.1 0.2

Commodities less food

154.002 153.001 153.053 -2.4 -0.6 0.0

Nondurables

224.984 224.757 225.089 -1.5 0.0 0.1

Nondurables less food

199.989 199.364 199.284 -4.6 -0.4 0.0

Nondurables less food and apparel

236.860 235.395 235.888 -4.9 -0.4 0.2

Services less rent of shelter(1)

343.204 343.686 344.936 2.4 0.5 0.4

Services less medical care services

291.376 291.938 292.649 2.6 0.4 0.2

Energy

199.306 198.260 197.145 -6.2 -1.1 -0.6

All items less energy

253.101 253.150 253.870 2.1 0.3 0.3

All items less food and energy

252.968 252.974 253.668 2.1 0.3 0.3

Commodities less food and energy commodities

146.912 146.094 146.116 -0.1 -0.5 0.0

Energy commodities

218.307 215.901 216.185 -12.2 -1.0 0.1

Services less energy services

322.047 322.715 323.905 2.9 0.6 0.4

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base.
(2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
(3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(5) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.

- Data not available.
Regions defined as the four Census regions. South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, November 13, 2019